Federal panel upholds Wesley Snipes tax sentence

FILE - Actor Wesley Snipes is seen in an undated booking photo provided by the United States Marshall Service.A federal appeals court Friday, July 16, 2010, upheld the three-year prison sentence against film star Wesley Snipes, who was convicted two years ago of failing to file income tax returns for three years.

July 16, 2010 6:46:41 PM PDT

ATLANTA (AP) - July 16, 2010 --

A federal appeals panel has upheld a three-year prison sentence on federal tax charges for film star Wesley Snipes.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta concluded Friday that the judge properly sentenced Snipes to three years in federal prison.

Attorneys for the action movie star argued that the sentence was "unreasonable" and that he should have been granted a hearing to decide whether his trial should have been held in New York instead of Florida.

A jury convicted Snipes in 2008 of three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file his income tax returns.